1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sensor deployment systems, and in particular, to an aircraft-borne system for deploying a sensor pod with an unobstructed field of view.
2. Description of the Related Art
The technology of aerial sensors has become an increasingly popular field of research and development for military and civilian aircraft. Aerial sensor platforms have always experienced limitations in terms of their field of view with respect to a ground target. The positioning (side doors, rear cargo ramps, sensor pods attached to plane structures, etc.) of a sensor platform on the plane can severely limit the field of view capabilities of the sensors on the sensor platform. Data collected from such sensors is therefore limited.
For example, one or more sensors may be placed on a simple boom and extended straight out the rear cargo ramp of an aircraft such as a C-130. The field of view of such boom-extended sensors is limited by the body of the aircraft. Such sensors may not be able to collect data from areas in front of the aircraft. Additionally, the use of boom-extended sensors can be problematic at high altitudes. At flight levels above a ceiling of 10,000 feet, it is necessary to seal the cargo holds of aircraft such as C-130s in order to maintain proper air pressure for the safety and comfort of the crew and operators, and thereby achieve full mission support capabilities for reconnaissance and/or data collection needs. However, the boom itself, power cords, and data cords prevent the rear cargo door and ramp from fully closing while the sensors are deployed outside the rear of the aircraft. Furthermore, sensors placed on the end of a boom may not have the required stability for precision data collection, nor would the sensors be protected from weather and high drag forces experienced during flight.
Other considerations applicable to the use of aircraft-borne sensors are the space and resources available in the aircraft and the ease with which the sensor system is loaded and unloaded from the aircraft. The only resources aboard a C-130 aircraft immediately useful without modification to the aircraft for remote sensing applications are electrical power and communication connectors accessible from the cargo bay. A sensor deployment system used on a C-130 aircraft must therefore not only conform to the dimensional and weight limits imposed by the C-130 aircraft design and operation, but must also conform to the electrical limits likewise imposed by the C-130 aircraft design and operation. Military aircraft such as the C-130 require the use of “standard” pallets as a base platform for transporting cargo to prevent damage to the floor of the aircraft and for ease and speed of loading and unloading the aircraft. For this purpose, a standard 463L Systems Cargo Pallet is used on C-130 aircraft by the United States Armed Forces. To ease and speed the loading and unloading of the C-130 aircraft, these pallets are loaded into C-130 aircraft by means of a series of roller systems on the floor of the rear cargo ramp and on the floor inside the C-130 fuselage. A sensor system used on a C-130 aircraft therefore preferably is compatible with the floor and roller systems on a C-130 aircraft.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a robust, roll-on/roll-off system for deploying sensors out of the rear cargo door of an aircraft such that the sensors remain stable and protected, with an unobstructed field of view. There is also a need for a system for sealing the cargo hold of an aircraft where the rear cargo doors are partially opened to accommodate the aforementioned sensor deployment system.